George Fox

Son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox was a mystic, visionary and fearless evangelist. He became a leader among the Seekers, who sought a personal relationship with God, and longed to see his Kingdom established on earth. As they called on all people to tremble before God, their enemies labelled them Quakers. Within years, they became one of England's largest radical sects, striking fear into the established order. Savagely beaten, their meeting-houses demolished, thousands were flung into England's lice-ridden gaols. Fox was imprisoned eight times. Though broken in health, he travelled relentlessly through Britain and North America. In 1689, two years before his death, the Toleration Act passed into English law. It laid the basis for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Hatton, Jean